I Couldn't Be Happier
by Queen Faeley
Summary: Fiyero has devoted his entire life to finding the woman he lost so long ago. With the surprise engagement thrown in his face, he decides he must leave the celebration. When Glinda returns to chide him for his behavior, he confesses something to her that she wants to believe she never saw coming. T for language and violence. Musicalverse. Fiyeraba. Multi-chap.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi friends! It's been a minute! Ugh, I've been so busy these past few years that I haven't had the time or really even the motivation to get back into writing. However, I've been reading a lot of FF lately and I started getting back into this fandom. I thought up this idea pretty quickly after reading a post by user i-will-mourn-the-wicked on tumblr (btw please follow me! My blog is glitteringobliteration !) and I ended up writing this short little first chapter pretty quickly.**

 **I'm not sure how long this will be, or for how long I'll be able to keep it up (as I said, I've been super busy and I've just happened to have had a lot of free time lately.) But if you enjoy this, lemme know in the review section! If you don't enjoy it and you think I should give up writing forever, lemme know in the review section! If you have any ideas on where the plot should go, feel free to PM me or message me/go to my ask box on tumblr! I don't really have any major plans for where this should go; I'm kinda just writing as I go along! Feel free to interject and give constructive criticism! I haven't written stories for a long time, so I'm sure I'll need all the help I can get. But I thought it would be fun to get back into this- I've been real desperate lately for a new creative outlet.**

 **Well, enough about me. Without further ado, let's get on to the story!**

 **Ps, Disclaimer: I'm not that girl.  
**

* * *

Smile and wave. Smile and wave. Hold her hand tighter. Kiss her cheek. Laugh. Smile.

Smile.

Smile.

Smile.

They had almost finished with Press Day. Unable to stomach the public any longer, he let go of her hand and had retreated into his study where he knew he wouldn't be bothered anymore.

Ten minutes of serenity, and there was a clamor outside, followed by deafening shouts.

" _Well,"_ he laughed mirthlessly to himself, _"with one exception."  
_

"Fiyero Tiggular! Do you realize what you've just done?!" The petite blonde burst in unannounced, fuming.

"Dearest, I—" He was cut short by her rantings yet again. This was something he'd grown accustomed to when they were still in school, however the shrillness of her voice never failed to give him a nasty headache when she was through. Having zoned out of the conversation, he was brought back when she began snapping.

"Are you even listening to me?! Oz, it's like I'm not even here anymore. Why do I continue to try for you? For her? I miss her too, Fiyero, but for Oz's sakes, we're getting married soon! If you're to be my husband, you need to at least _try_ to show me some affection for once! I was so vulnerable out there! I-I didn't know what to say to all of those people when they'd seen you leave in such a fury…"

She began to cry, as she often did. He'd become tired of the same old routine: He left, she followed, she would yell, make herself weep, and he would have to come in to save the day. _"My hero,"_ she would sigh, and fall into his arms, ever playing the damsel in distress.

It reminded him of another who had called him the same once, long ago. He longed to see her again, to hold her in his arms, to kiss her the way he should have back then. To tell her of his devotion to her, though he realizes how foolish that may sound right now considering his engagement to her best friend. But when did his foolishness ever stop him before? Agreeing to the marriage was a small price to pay if it meant he could continue dedicating his life to seeing her again. Even if it was only once, only a short moment. He knew it would be worth it.

"Fiyero," his newly betrothed wailed, "you've made me upset. Aren't you going to make it up to me?"

"Glinda," he started, "you have to know how much you surprised me earlier, dearest. Can we please talk about this?"

 **Love it? Hate it? Think you know what's gonna happen next?**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I'm not really sure how often I'll be able to update this story, but I've gotten a little ahead with writing some of it so I figure I'll just update it every day or so until I can't anymore. I'm on September break right now for school, so I've got plenty of time!**

 **Please let me know what you think of the story in the review section!**

* * *

Fiyero led her into their bedroom a few doors down once she had composed herself. He sat with her on the fine, light green sofa in the corner and inhaled deeply. She was not going to take this well, and he knew better than to assume otherwise.

"Glinda, may I be blunt?" He was nervous, but he knew he couldn't continue to string her along. She had gone so far as to proclaim their marriage; he couldn't continue to pretend he loved her when his heart belonged to someone else.

Glinda nodded, not seeming to understand why he would need to ask such a preposterous question. He was, after all, her fiancé. Shouldn't he feel comfortable telling her anything and everything?

Fiyero took her hands in his and gazed into her eyes for a moment, trying to read her thoughts. She wasn't afraid, he could tell, but she should have been.

"I'm in love," he began slowly, but was cut off before he could utter another word.

"Oh I knew that, sweetheart, there's no need to be shy! I love you too, my dearest, darlingest, handsome man!" She leaned in for a kiss, but he did not oblige.

"Fiyero?" Disappointed, she searched his face for an answer. When she moved to speak again, he shook his head slightly, as if to silence her. He took another deep breath.

"Please, Glinda, let me finish… I'm in love, but… not with you. I wish, for both our sakes, that I could be. I wish that I could love you, but I can't. I never have. I'm so sorry."

She didn't understand. Bursting into a fit of giggles, she dismissed his confession as a silly joke and began to stand up.

"Oh, silly Fifi, always playing evil tricks on other people! You really ought to stop that, you know. Oz knows it's not proper for the Captain of the Guard to lie and play pranks!" She kissed his cheek quickly and started out the door, having forgotten about the incident from earlier, but was stopped when she heard a faint murmur from across the room.

"What was that, dearest?" The blonde turned around, smiling at her fiancé.

"Elphaba. I'm in love with Elphaba." He choked the words out, afraid that if he didn't, they'd be swallowed forever. His face grew pale; he'd never told anyone before.

Glinda froze. He seemed earnest and sincere, which terrified her. _"Elphie?"_ She swallowed hard.

 _"Surely, he can't mean it. He just can't. He's lying. This is a dream. This is a terrible, horrible nightmare and when I pinch myself it'll all be over!"_

"Say something, please," Fiyero pleaded. He needed to know her thoughts. He assumed she would be rather angry, but she was scaring him. Glinda wasn't responding at all.

Slowly, the frightened blonde pinched herself—to no avail. This wasn't a dream, this was reality. Her reality. And she wanted out.

Glinda's world began to spin. Dizzying colors swirled around her, and suddenly her world went black.

 _"Well shit."_

 **Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I think you guys are really gonna like this chapter, I know _I'm_ certainly very proud of how it turned out. I've got some awesome ideas for where to take this story and I cannot wait to share them with all of you!**

 **Please continue to review and let me know what you think of these first three chapters! I love getting to hear your thoughts on the chapters and predictions on where the rest of the story will go!**

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When Glinda came to, she was lying down on the bed she had previously shared with the Vinkun prince. Attempting to sit up, she realized that she had a pounding headache and that it was pitch dark in the room.

"Fifi," she mumbled softly, and he immediately perked up.

After Glinda fainted, he'd carried her to the bed and sat with her, knowing she would be back within a few moments. He had graciously turned out the lights and covered the windows so that she wouldn't be in even more pain when she woke up. Having been anxiously sitting on pins and needles the entire time she was out, he was glad to hear her voice, even if he knew he wouldn't be very soon.

"I'm here, Glin," he said quietly. "You took quite a spill a few minutes ago. I don't think you need to be checked by the doctors, but I wanted to make things more comfortable for you when you woke up…" He fiddled with his hands nervously—a habit he'd yet to outgrow since it began when he was a child. "Everything is alright," he promised, turning on the small bedside table lamp.

"Fiyero, is it true?" Glinda still wasn't sure of how to respond to her love's confession. She'd had her suspicions about it before, but she had always dismissed herself as being silly and stupid. They were supposed to be perfect together, and they were also supposed to be getting married! It just couldn't be over… Could it?

Fiyero knew he had to tell her sooner or later—he couldn't see himself living the rest of his life with Glinda. It would be perfect, he knew. The perfect wife, perfect job, perfect babies, perfect house. But what good is a house if it can never feel like home? What good is a perfect life when you can't spend it with the person you love? Fiyero didn't want perfect. He wanted substance. He wanted her.

"You're allowed to be upset with me. Slap me, smack me, and beat the hell out of me… I don't care, I understand. And I'm sorry. I just… I should have told you before. I shouldn't have let it go this far. I was stupid and naïve and I just wanted to do what I thought was the right thing for her sake. I never stopped to consider what it all might mean for you. For us. And for that, I was wrong. And I regret it. But, yes, it's true." Fiyero mentally prepared himself for the onslaught of what he was sure to be a rather appropriate punishment, but nothing came.

He cocked his head to the side. "Glin," he started, but she shushed him. What she said next surprised him the most out of anything she could've done.

"I'm not mad." Glinda took a moment to choose her next words carefully.

"I am hurt. I am upset. But I'm not mad. Elphie deserves a good, strong man who will love and take care of her. Especially now, with the whole, you know… the wicked witch thing and all… You are kind, and gentle, and exactly what she deserves."

Fiyero could hear the tears in her voice. He went to hold her and she began sobbing into his chest. "I thought we were perfect together," she hiccupped, and he did his best to console her. Rubbing his hand over her back soothingly, he waited until she had calmed a bit before speaking.

"I thought so too, Glin, for a while. I really did. But then—"

"Oh, spare me the details," she spat, pulling away from his embrace. "I don't want to hear about the two of you going around behind my back this whole time. I can't bear to think of it."

"It was never like that, Glinda. You must understand," he tried, "I haven't seen her since the day the two of you left. I have no idea if she even feels the same way about me, and I would _never_ have had an affair. I am many things, but I am not a cheater. I was going to break up with you once you got back from the Emerald City that day, but you were already so upset about her leaving and how they began treating her like a criminal, calling her that _awful_ name… I couldn't do something that cruel to you, I couldn't leave you alone. And then you'd told me about their offering you a position once you graduated…" He trailed off.

Glinda had pieced the rest together by then. She may be a blonde, but she was anything but a dumb one.

"That's when you decided to join the Gale Force and stay with me. To find her." It was a statement rather than a question. Fiyero could only nod.

"I understand," she said plainly. "She's not conventional, like me I suppose, but she is amazing. She always had a heart of gold… I guess that's what got her in all this trouble in the first place." She gave him a watery smile, reminded of how much she regretted her decision not to go with her best friend.

"You can't choose who you love, Fiyero," she realized the truth to her words as she spoke them. "But you can choose what you do about it. And while I'm terribly upset at you for leading me on all this time, and make no mistake, we'll talk about that later... I understand why. I can't be angry with you for wanting her instead of me. I am in love with you, Fiyero, but I also want you to be happy. If she's what makes you happy, it would be cruel of me to take that from you." Glinda sighed dejectedly, realizing there was nothing more she could do.

"She was already taken from me… But that's why I did this. Thank you for being so understanding, Glinda. It means the world to me." He kissed her forehead softly. "If you have any questions… If you want to talk about it, I'm here. I'll answer anything, and I promise to be one hundred percent honest. No more secrets, you have my word."

Glinda smiled at him wearily; there was quite a lot on her mind. But she wanted to focus the energy she still had on thinking positively, rather than concentrating on the bad.

She moved her hand to rest over his. "Tell me… How did you fall in love?"


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey friends! Sorry today's update was a little late, I've been out all day long running errands and stuff.**

 **I really hope you guys are enjoying this story as much as I've been enjoying writing it! Please continue to review!**

* * *

Fiyero spent the next several hours talking with Glinda about it all, thankful that that's all she seemed to be interested in. He happily indulged her by telling her all about how he and Elphaba had first met, their moment in the clearing with the Lion Cub, and how he'd wanted to send her off before she went to the Emerald City for the first time. He spoke to her about his decision to join the Guard and how he'd devoted all of his time to finding her himself, always leading his men in the opposite direction from where she was sure to be. Hiding all of the evidence, searching for her alone whenever he could get the chance. He even went so far as to show her all the journals he kept, full of notes he'd made regarding her whereabouts.

"So this is why you suddenly became such a great student once she was gone," Glinda mused softly. "It was so you could graduate on time and go through with your plan to find her." She was listening intently, sitting up on the bed next to him.

Fiyero nodded. "I knew that the only way I would ever have any chance of seeing her again was if I finally got my life together and started working hard for what I really wanted," he said. "It also doesn't hurt that I'm fairly sure she sees hard work and determination as admirable traits in a person…" He smiled a little to himself, remembering back to all the times she'd tried to get him to study more often.

"She definitely did when we were still at Shiz," Glinda told him. "Good for you, Fiyero. I'm glad that something motivated you to get better the way you did. I know I certainly found it very attractive. I'm positive that she will, too." She smiled at him, already coming to terms with the whole situation. He didn't love her, but it couldn't be helped. She might as well try to help him if she can't do anything else.

"It feels good to be able to play matchmaker again," she thought. Even if Glinda was still upset that she couldn't be with him, she had to admit that she did like the idea of setting her two best friends up with each other.

Fiyero perked up at the thought. "You really think so?" She knew as well as he did that Elphaba was never really one to speak about her personal feelings. He looked down, second guessing himself—something he had never done before actually taking a moment to think about what Elphaba may feel for him.

"I know so," Glinda assured him. "It's been years since I've seen her, but I know Elphie. I can't tell you that she loves you back because I don't really know, but… She's a young woman, she has feelings. I'm sure she's experienced attraction on some level before, even if it wasn't with you. And you're irresistible, I mean just look at you! There's absolutely no way she hasn't at least thought about it."

* * *

And thought about it, Elphaba most definitely had.

Elphaba landed on the ground slowly, resting her broom against her side as she decided what to do next. She had been running from some of the Force when she began, but was fairly sure she'd lost them by now. She'd been attempting to free a group of Animals from an underground EC facility, but the mission was unsuccessful. Her friend Erwyn, a Bear, had been captured as well, among a few other Animals she'd been with. She had just barely escaped. Now she was alone, and had no idea where she was.

Elphaba made her way through the dense forest, looking for a safe place to rest until the next day. She soon came across a strangely familiar clearing and stopped. An odd feeling came over her, and she shivered, slowly remembering the events that had taken place in this very spot, a very long time ago.

"I happen to be genuinely self-absorbed, and deeply shallow," he'd told her. She whirled around to face where they had been standing.

"No you're not," she'd quipped back, "or you wouldn't be so unhappy." He had studied her carefully, taken aback by her ability to recognize his own transparency.

And then there was the kiss. "Or, well," she thought, "not really… A handsome prince like him kissing the green bean? Fat chance, Elphaba. Besides, he's engaged now. It's not worth worrying about anymore, it never was to begin with." Of course Elphaba had heard of her best friends' engagement celebration. It was all that anyone, including those in the Resistance, could seem to talk about. It was all that she could seem to think about as well, she supposed.

But what difference did it make? Fiyero was never hers in the first place. She had no right to be hurt. Yet here she was, still pining over the brainless, blonde man who'd shown a different side of himself to her one day, ages ago.

Almost reluctantly, she decided to find another place to stay the night—that particular clearing was far too familiar for her liking—and settled in quickly. As she finally drifted off to sleep later, Elphaba dreamt of strong hands, a warm bed, and bright blue eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: All I have to say right now is this:**

 **Mwahahahahahahahaha.**

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Fiyero woke up the next morning on the couch in the room he shared with Glinda. He smiled, remembering the events from the previous night, and got up to get ready for the new day.

He didn't believe that he had any specific duties to carry out today or tomorrow, which was perfect for his plans that day: finding Elphaba. This day had been a long time coming, and he'd never felt more nervous or excited for anything in his life. After all this time, he was ecstatic about finally having reached a point in his work where he felt like there was a good chance of actually catching her in person this time.

He quickly packed a small rucksack for necessities like matches, water, and snacks, wrote a note to tell Glinda of his whereabouts, and covered his bag with a heavy jacket so as to not look suspicious. It was winter, after all. He slipped on his boots, and was off.

Fiyero swiftly made his way through the palace, praying that he wouldn't be seen or stopped before he made it past the gates. _"Just my luck,"_ he thought, as he passed the one woman he dreaded seeing the most.

Madame Morrible was a stout old woman. She always wore her hair up in some pretentious manner, and was never seen without a gaudy amount of makeup plastered all over her wart-ridden face. You could always tell when she had entered the room by the offensive smell of fish that always seemed to travel with her. She was full of mischief and deceit—exactly what Fiyero was desperate to avoid.

"Ah, Prince Fiyero," she exclaimed, "just the man I wanted to see." She hummed as she reached into her dress pocket to retrieve a small note, which she handed to him.

"Your presence has been requested at a press meeting with all of the Ozian newspapers this afternoon. They've asked that you read them a statement regarding the news about the Wicked Witch's attempt to break into the Northern EC Animal Correction and Treatment Facility. I've taken the liberty of writing it for you, and I expect you to be ready to repeat it word for word at the meeting. The conference will take place at noon." Then, she sauntered away before he could get a word in, leaving Fiyero dumbfounded.

He unfolded the card and skimmed over it quickly, but stopped in his tracks. He read it completely through once. Twice. Four times. Nine times, until he couldn't take it any longer. He ran back up the stairs to their wing of the palace, slamming the door behind him as he ran into the bedroom.

"Fiyero? What's going on? I thought you would be out—" He cut the blonde off, and began to read aloud.

 _"The Wicked Witch of the West,"_ he began, _"has posed a threat to our lands for far too long. She welcomes violence and chaos, forcing the good people of Oz to stay locked up in their homes, afraid for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Yesterday, the Witch attempted to break into an Animal treatment facility just north of the Emerald City, but was, thankfully, unsuccessful. Just two weeks ago, she wreaked havoc in a Gilikin hospital. The week before that, a Zoo! Are we to sit idly by while she plods through our provinces and terrifies our citizens? This hideous, evil creature must be extinguished as soon as possible. People of Oz, do whatever you must. If you see this grotesquely deformed, loathsome monster anywhere, capture her immediately and alert the local authorities as soon as you are able. This is no longer a problem to be solved by the Wizard's Guard, but rather a threat to the security of our land as a whole. We stand united. Together, we must make it our duty to kill the Wicked Witch."_

Fiyero crumpled the letter and threw it across the room, his world spinning. "I-I," he stammered, "I have to read that at a meeting today. It's gonna be in every newspaper in Oz by tomorrow." He hung his head, trying his best not to cry. "I can't do it, Glin… I can't talk about her like that, I…" He trailed off. Glinda was speechless.

"Fiyero, I… I don't know what to say," she told him honestly, holding back tears of her own. She made room for him to lay next to her, and let him set his head in her lap as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"I can't do this to her," he murmured, "I love her, I-I... I can't ask people t-to…" He shook, clinging to Glinda's leg as he sobbed- something she had never seen him do before. Her heart broke for this man, but there was very little that she could do besides comfort him as he wept.

"Shh," she tried, "It's going to be alright, okay? Please trust me..."

But they both knew the truth, and there was nothing either of them could do about it.

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 **Please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts on where you guys think this is going!**


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